Cultural Commentary by Lee Rosenbaum, who also writes for the Wall Street Journal (Leisure & Arts), NY Times (including six Op-Ed pieces) and Art in America. Must-read art blog, cited by The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Schjeldahl on Klimt

Is she worth the money? Not yet. Paintings this special may not come along for sale often, and the hundred and four million dollars spent for a so-so Picasso, “Boy with a Pipe,” two years ago indicated that irrational exuberance could be the booming art market’s new motto. But Lauder’s outlay predicts a level of cost that must either soon become common or be relegated in history as a bid too far.

And the identity of the artist gives pause. The price paid is four and a half times the previous high (already a stunner, in 2003) for a Klimt; until a few years ago, the artist ranked as a second-tier modern master both at auction and in the estimation of most art critics and historians....The purchase of “Adele” tests the possibility—ever less to be sneezed at, these days—of rewriting art history with a checkbook.

About Me

I'm a longtime cultural journalist. Since I always have more opinions and information than the Mainstream Media can use, I've decided to throw some of those juicy tidbits into this blog. You may have seen my many pieces on the Wall Street Journal’s “Leisure & Arts” and “Taste” pages, and in the New York Times (Arts & Leisure, Real Estate, Business, Circuits and six Op-Ed pieces). I'm also contributing editor of Art in America magazine and author of The Complete Guide to Collecting Art (Knopf, 1982). PLEASE PUT SOME COINS IN MY TIN CUP by clicking on the Google-placed ads (top).
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